<Begin Segment 22>

MN: You were married in 1957?

FH: '57, yes, correct.

MN: Can you tell us how you met your wife?

FH: Yes. I was the French language major. I mean, in the National Higher School, they had a literary class. There was a literary class and science class. Literary class, there was a A, B and C. A specialized in English eight hours a week, and German four hours a week. And B, German eight hours a week and English four hours, and C, French eight hours a week and four hours of English. And the professor, there was an educational system change in Japan after the war, so that the school, the National Higher School system was abolished. And so the professor went to Hiroshima and became a professor at the Hiroshima University. And that was his main job, but as a side job, he became he professor at the Hiroshima Women's College where my wife was a student. And so when I told this professor that I'm going back to the United States, he said that, "There is a young woman that I would like you to meet." And so he came to Okayama with his wife and with my wife and so forth. And then we met. And then we decided to, you know, get married and so forth. That's how, yeah.

MN: What is your wife's name?

FH: Japanese name is Hisaye, but when she got naturalized, she became, she adopted Patricia. Patricia Hisaye Hirata is her legal name.

MN: Now, there's some stigma about hibakusha, and your wife is a hibakusha. Did you have any concerns about marrying a hibakusha?

FH: Of course, at that time, I did not know, but later on, that became known. But I don't think so. Because they may think that it may affect the following generation and so forth, but I don't anything like that. We did not see.

<End Segment 22> - Copyright © 2010 Densho. All Rights Reserved.